TROY – Work was nearly finished on the long-term restoration of the Kate Mullany National Historic Site house in Troy when a Jeep plowed through the back of the building Tuesday.
The three-story structure was badly damaged after another vehicle clipped SUV on Hoosick Street, sending the SUV off the highway, through the rear yard and into a ground-floor brick wall in the back of the building at 350 Eighth St.
The 21-year-old Poughkeepsie woman driving was not injured, city police said. But officials at the historic landmark said display space for the museum’s exhibits was badly damaged. The first-floor interior was torn apart and the wall had to be boarded over after the vehicle was pulled out.
The crash happened after years of rehabilitation work.
“We are nearly complete — 95 percent to 98 percent complete,” Paul Cole, the site’s executive director, said Wednesday as he surveyed the damage.
The house was the home of Kate Mullany, a 19th century Irish immigrant who formed and led the 300-member all-female Troy Collar Laundry Union. In 1864 the union went on strike successfully against 14 commercial laundries and won higher wages.
The house was declared a National Historic Landmark by the federal government in 1998. In 2005, Congress designated it as the Kate Mullany National Historic Site. Cole began working on acquiring and restoring the site in 1988. Former U.S. Rep. Michael McNulty, D-Green Island, Senator Daniel Patrick Moyhihan and Senator Hillary Clinton played roles in getting the site recognized and registered with the National Park Service.
“It’s the only national historic site of 89 sites that has a focus on women, labor and Irish immigrants all rolled into one,” Cole said.
The site is owned and operated by the American Labor Studies Center. The center’s mission is to create, collect and disseminate labor history and labor studies curriculum materials and resources to K-12 teachers nationwide. About $500,000 in grants and another $150,000 in work provided by the Greater Capital Region Buildings and Construction Trades Council
The center has conducted extensive interior and exterior renovations of the building to restore it to its 19th century appearance when Mullany lived there. About $500,000 in grants and another $150,000 in volunteer labor provided by the Greater Capital Region Buildings and Construction Trades Council.
The site’s engineers and architects are looking at what has to be done to repair the damage, Cole said.
“We’re undaunted. We hope to have an opening ceremony in 2021,” he said.
Information about the Kate Mullany National Historic Site and how to make donations is available through the site website katemullanynhs.org.
